Magical Journey
by Melody1212
Summary: Anna is just an ordinary girl, but suddenly her world is turned upside down. She is now a student in Hogwarts, friends with the famous Golden Trio, but there is one little tiny problem: It is not her world! How the heck did she got into the world of Harry Potter? But now that it seems, she is stuck here, can she help others to have a better life? Or is something unchangeable?
1. The past

**Hello everybody! I just want to say, that I am not a native speaker, so please excuse some hopefully tiny mistakes! I´d love to have a beta to read this through, so if anybody is interested, please contact me!**

So, now to my story. I hope you like it. I know there are a lot time travel and godnesslike heroes who know everything and do everything right, but this story is not like this! I just wanted to play around a little bit with all those characters who made an appereance in the Harry Potter Universe, which all belongs to JKR!, only my characters and some additonal bits and pieces coming from my mind! Everything that is written in _italic_ are Annas thoughts! Well without further ado, please read and enjoy Anna´s journey...

Dear Readers! This story happened to me many years ago. Since I kept diaries in that time, I was able to write down this story out of these bits and pieces and my memories. It is about a journey so incredible that one could imagine it is a dream, but I swear to god, every word is true.

 **The Past**

I was packing my bag. _Enough is enough! I will never ever in a million years stay one minute longer in this godforsaken house with a medieval mindset about the inhabitants of this mansion!_ Since the death of my parents, I live in my uncle´s house, hundreds of miles away from my home and friends. So, with the death of my parents, I not only have lost my home and everything valuable within it, but also my closest friends. On top of this, my uncle had banned every technology, like laptops and mobile phones, from his home. The only exception, of course, was his office, in where he kept his laptop, but it was totally forbidden to enter his office. _He and my aunt are nuts! No wonder my parents avoided them on every possible occasion!_

My parents were open-minded, fun-loving parents who thought and taught me that the world would be a grey boring world, if we don´t have secrets and adventures now and then. My fathers´ greatest treasure was his history books, geographical cards, files full of legends from old long forgotten cultures and Plants &Animal dictionaries. Whenever I had a question, we headed into our library and searched for the answer in those books. My mother´s passion was more music, the theatre and social work, but of course she had books as well. Though they were filled more with stories than with pure knowledge. Her section in the library were poems, classic novels, like from Schiller, Shakespeare, Goethe, Doyle, Melvin and Austen; some fairy tales and historical novels.

I knew all those stories and poems, some of those I even knew by heart. But all of this was history, because on Halloween 2015 my whole world literally burst into flames. Our house caught fire in the middle of the night. The police were unable to find reasons or culprits. I woke up and was not able to breathe and began coughing. My whole room was full of smoke. When I opened the door to the corridor, flames nearly burned me alive. I slammed the door shut and turned to the only escape possible, the window. Thank goodness, I could open it and threw some of my things, like my photo album, my favourite fairy tale book which I inherited from my great-grandmother and my plushie which I had since I was little. Then I jumped down from the first floor into our garden. I could not see my parents anywhere. When I looked up again, I saw flames bursting out of their window. The last I remembered was screaming like mad for my parents but got no answer. Then I fell unconscious.

I woke up laying in a hospital bed and a psychologist was telling me that my parents died in the fire and that my house was totally destroyed. After weeks in the hospital which I spent mostly reading my fantasy books, like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and magical adventures under water, my aunt and uncle took care of me and brought me far away to their home. I was lonely and depressed. I dreamed about having magical powers like the characters in my books. I wished to resuscitate my parents, but that was impossible. Even in the stories from my great-grandmother, death was the last step which nobody can come back from and also shouldn´t return from. Nobody was allowed to trick death and also, someone is only dead when nobody remember him anymore! I felt and remembered my parents every day, but I couldn´t see or touch them. I missed the embraces from my mother and the discussion I had with my father. I missed feeling whole again, and every day with my aunt and uncle showed me how I didn´t want to be or live.

My uncle was the boss and my aunt complied to every one of his commands. She had no voice, opinion or spine! My uncle took the money that I inherited from my parents und bought unnecessary things for prestige and luxury for himself, but nothing for me or his own wife! He took and took, and I had enough of this. I just turned 17 years old and within a year I would officially be an adult, so I certainly wasn´t a toddler anymore. I inherited enough from my parents and could take care of myself. I would survive, or more live, on my own quite well. So, I was now packing my belongings as few as they were: photo album, fairy-tale book, plushie, some clothes and the rest of my money, which my uncle hadn´t wasted yet, in total 300,000 Pounds. That would be more than enough for me to live and learn again. I knew running away does not solve problems, but in this case, I saw it as the only solution.

On the night of July, 26 2016, I took my packed bag and tiptoed out of the mansion, but before I could safely leave the property, a strong hand grabbed me and turned me roughly around. My bag flew into the bushes planted along the edges of the path. The angry face of my uncle was illuminated by the torchlight. "Where do you think you are going? On the way to a party, I assume?! You disgraceful child! I will teach you your place!" He dragged me towards the mansion. The next part is nothing for little children, so I spare you the details. The result was that I awoke on a thin mattress in a cellar with bruises and red marks all over my body, especially my legs, back and behind hurt a lot. My uncle screamed the whole time that I was a spoiled brat and a waste of space and I should be thankful that they took me in after the death of my parents. "From now on, this is how I will teach you your place!", he threatened me. _I need to get away from here. If he notices that I took all the money from the bank account, he will kill me, for sure!_

I stood up weakly. Everything hurt, and my legs felt as if they were out of jelly. I reached the cellar door, but it was locked. _He really locked me in! He totally lost all his marbles!_ I jiggled the door knob for a while and suddenly it opened. I was absolutely surprised, but back then was definitely not the time to freeze. As silently as possible, I snuck upstairs to the ground floor and into the entrance hall. When I opened the front door, I heard my uncle calling from upstairs: "Who´s there?" I didn´t think, just reacted, and ran out of the mansion. I reached the bushes, searched for my bag, found it and buckled it on. The silhouette of my uncle appeared in the open door and he screamed: "YOU! Where are you are going? JUST WAIT, until I get a hold of you!" He ran towards me and I fled over the wall and down the street. My uncle was close behind me. One time he nearly reached me, but I could thankfully avoid his grasp and escape. _Please, please, god, mother, father, whoever watches out for me, get me to safety!_

Suddenly everything lightened up around me and I got the feeling I was on a rollercoaster. The world around me spinned and become blurred. I felt stretched and squeezed at the same time. I got extremely sick and then the world went black…

Liked it? Please leave comments in the box below! See you soon, Mel!


	2. Journey to where?

**Hi everybody! So, a next chaper, but just for short notice: don´t expect a chapter following so closely! Like I have said before, I am not a native speaker, so translating my chapters takes a while and at the same time, I´m still writing my German story, and RL is another thing. I will really try to translate them and upload them regulary, but no promises! But now, have fun!** Still everything belongs to JKR with the exception of my own creations and characters ;)

 **Journey to where?**

When I awoke again, I heard the wind whistling through the branches of many trees. I felt prickling under me like I was accustomed to from my friend´s barn. I slowly opened my eyes. _Where am I? In a barn?_ I still felt dizzy. As my view cleared a little bit, I spotted some hay bales and a crooked flat roof above me with dark wooden beams. I scooted carefully to the precipice and looked downstairs. _Mhm, it seems to be a stable of some sort. Well, but it definitely is not Jasmins´ barn. That, I think, I would recognise._ Jasmin was my best friend and she lived on a farm back home with many stables for cows and horses and a huge barn. But this barn was dark with only the full moon shining through a round window atop the entrance. Downstairs I spotted several stalls, but I could not think about it anymore. I was exhausted, and everything hurt. I rolled back and closed my eyes again.

Pick, pick, pick. Pick, pick, pick. Again, and again, I felt a soft nudge against my head. _Noooo, I don´t want to get up, yet. Please let me sleep. Leave me alone!_ Then I heard a soft hooting next to my ear, like an owl. "She has to answer this letter, as quick as possible. Time is of the essence!", I heard a deep voice saying, which sounded like a melody. I turned to this voice and opened one eye. Then I sat up abruptly because an eagle owl was sitting there, looking at me. "Did he speak with me?", I asked aloud. But then I shook my head. _Of course not, what was I thinking! An Owl speaking! I must still be asleep._ Before I could think these lines of thought further, the eagle owl hooted again: "Can she understand me? That´s impossible!" Carefully I sat up straighter and pinched my arm hard. _Owww! I am totally awake! But how can that be? Animals don´t talk! Maybe I hit my head? Or maybe I´m still asleep?_

The eagle owl hooted again and showed his leg. "Take the letter already?" Like in a trance I took the letter from his leg without really noticing it. _It is really talking! And I can understand it as if I am speaking to a normal person. This is so creepy! Or AMAZING!_ I look at the owl which probed me as well. _Even if this is a dream, I should just play along. Like father always said: The courageous ones maybe don´t live forever but the fearful ones do not live at all! So, Anna, just go with it!_ I cleared my throat and bravely answered the eagle owl: "Yes, I can understand you. But why? And, where am I? How did I get here in the first place?" I looked sceptical at the eagle owl and waited. The owl gaped and stuttered: "I… I am… speechless! I´ve never heard of anything like this. There is a lot of craziness going on in the magical world, but sometimes even I get surprised." "One second", I interrupted him _or her?_ I drew a breath and said: "Okay, the last thing I remembered, was my uncle chasing after me and then I felt like I was on a rollercoaster. Well and now, where am I?"

Quizzingly I looked around me and recognised the barn. _Ah, so this was not a dream! Or I am still dreaming but I really doubt that! I really wish I´m dreaming because I always wanted to do something special. Talking to an owl, how cool is that?!_ "Jep, I´m dreaming." I pinched myself again on the arm. _Owww!_ "Nope, I am awake! But what the heck is going on here?" I tried to solve this riddle. _How did I get into a random barn? Why can I speak to an animal?_ "Stop!", the eagle owl interrupted me. I looked at him/ _her?_ with big round eyes. "Just to get this right. You were chased, then everything spun around you and now you are at a place which you don´t recognise?", he concluded from my babbling. I nodded.

"Well, that sounds as if you apparated yourself. It is not normal at your age but totally possible. That would explain your journey. When it comes to your ability, I am out of answers. I´ve never heard of such an ability but everything is possible. Well, and maybe your journey explains why I had to deliver your letter this late. You haven´t had one before, right?", mused the eagle owl. I looked shocked at the animal and asked it: "Did you just say Magic?" "Yes", the owl nodded. "I don´t have magic. Magic does not exist, except in books of course", I contradicted fiercely. "Really?!", the owl looked at me and I could swear it looked at me derisively. "How do you explain that you can speak with me?" "No Idea, but not with magic. Maybe I hit my head too hard. Magic, that is a fairy-tale, children´s stories. I dreamed about that a thousand times, but that does not make it real!", I countered and shook my head. "Maybe this will convince you!", the owl picked up a piece of paper with his/ _her?_ Beak and let it fall into my lap. It was the letter from before, which I took from the owl´s leg, and then ignored. In green cursive handwriting, someone wrote the following on a thick letter out of _pergament?_

 _Miss Anna Hansen. At the inhabitant barn, Cokeworth, Surrey_

I looked at the symbol of Hogwarts which was printed above the handwriting, and let go of this immediately, as if it were burning hot. "Now, I know that I am dreaming! This is absolutely impossible! This is only a story! Hogwarts, Dumbledore, the forbidden forest, the magical world. That all is imaginary and by the way, I am way too old to attend Hogwarts!", I said angrily. "You know Hogwarts and the Headmaster? I assure you, those stories are all real and you are definitely not too old to attend Hogwarts. Aren´t you eleven? Everyone is totally excited about this school year because Harry Potter will be a student, and everybody is anxious to meet him", assured the owl and looked intensively at me. First, I gazed at the owl, as if it were from an alien planet. Then I looked at myself and got the shock of my life. _What in Jesus name? What? How? Why?_

I stood up and saw my dress tottered around my ankles. Yesterday it just barely touched my knees. The sleeves were supposed to be ¾ long, but now they fell over my hands and my bosom was gone. I turned around, looked at my hands, feet and legs. _I´m gonna go crazy! What happened? I am in my childhood body. THIS IS A NIGHTMARE!_ The owl looked worryingly at me and asked: "Is everything okay?" I nodded absently. _What am I supposed to do? Be a child again, 11 years old? Okay, Anna, take a deep breath, or two…. Or three! Nobody can know about this. How should I explain anything, like where I come from… I have to find out more!_ I looked at the eagle owl again and sat down. _What was the topic again? Ah, yes, Harry Potter…_

"So, Harry Potter is alive, and Voldemort is vanquished?! Of course!", I said sarcastically, surely I got my confidence back. The eagle owl winced but nodded confidently. "Yes, all these stories are true. It happened ten years ago. Who told you those stories?", asked the animal astonished. _Good question! What am I supposed to do? Deep breaths again. 1…2…3… My uncle chased me, the world was spinning, I awoke in a strange barn, being able to speak with animals and Harry Potter is suddenly real! What am I missing?_ I looked down and saw my necklace and then I remembered. _It was glowing! Yes, the necklace glowed brightly during the rollercoaster feeling. My Great-grandmother gave it to me and told me that it was a protection amulet. It could be if magic is really real?! Some people believe in those superstitions; my great-grandmother did._

I halted for a second and asked then: "One moment, did you just say, that Harry Potter will be going to school for his first year this year?" The owl nodded and said: "Yes, like everybody else who reaches their eleventh birthday before the end of August, Harry Potter will be attending his first year." _Whoa, pause and replay! Harry Potter went to school in the '90s, 1991, if I remember correctly. That would mean, it **is** 1991! What else will be crashing down on me? In 1991, I was not even born and my parents….. Wait, **my parents… they are ALIVE!** But they didn´t even know each other! _Sadly, I looked at the owl and shook my head lightly.

 _Okay, let´s go on with this. Let´s first assume: magic exists, secondly: my necklace brought me to safety, thirdly: I am 17 years in the past and lastly: in the Harry Potter Universe, which should only be a story, even 17 years ago! Or maybe I am in a parallel universe? And somehow bits and pieces of each world get into the other? Maybe a lot of books are windows into other worlds? That sounds so…. INCREDIBLE! My dreams got real! I am in a **magical world**! _I looked shortly at the owl and then at my necklace. _Brought me to safety? Yeah, right…. To a world where Voldemort is still alive. Nobody is really safe here. Harry´s life was not safe, that was one catastrophe after the next._ _But wait a sec! I… know …. The story… I know everything….. well nearly!_ I hold my head as everything got crystal clear to me. _I am in the past, and so the past I know about, is now the future! But no one can know about this! Time travelling is against the law! But I could start a new life here?! Nobody will search for me. My uncle is not even my uncle yet. And… maybe… my parents exist in this world and in two decades I can hopefully prevent them from being killed and give the other-me a better life._

The owl was nudging me. I had probably been musing too long on my own. I cleared my throat and said: "Ehm, yes…" I looked a little bit lost. _I need a good cover story!_ "… ehm my great-grandmother told me all those stories, but I thought they were just stories. My family was…. not magical", I explained further. _Sounds good, right? Hopefully she.. he … is buying it._ The owl nodded and guessed: "Maybe they didn´t practise it or they knew people from the magical world. Maybe your great-grandmother wanted to prepare you for the magical world and Hogwarts." I nodded and said: "Yes, probably…" _Good! She bought it. The first obstacle mastered. I should stay close to this version._

I looked down at my lap and saw the letter. I took it and said: "You need an answer, right?" The owl nodded. "It´s the 27th of July." _So, just the next day. Only a different year?!_ "Well, the thing is that my relatives don´t like me… and they definitely don´t believe in magic. I could… hide in the magical world. Will Hogwarts send letters to them?", I asked. Again, the animal nodded. "Well, on the holiday, I can go to… friends. I will not be totally on my own. So, the headmaster and the teachers don´t need to know about my situation with my relatives, right?"

I looked pleadingly at the owl. "Well, I can´t tell them. You are the only human I can talk to. Professor McGonagall is not suspicious about the late delivery. She just went over the acceptances and denials and a few letters were not answered yet. So, she sent me and a couple of my friends out to deliver the letters again, as a reminder, you could say. She has too many other things on her mind. They only send letters in serious situations, so if you behave, you shouldn´t be in trouble", it hooted softly. I nodded thankfully and took a pen and pad out of my backpack. _I will stay for the moment. Maybe I can even improve a few lives here. At the moment, I don´t even know how to get back. Maybe in the Hogwarts library, I can find some books about it._ I wrote a reply to Professor McGonagall.

 _Dear Professor, McGonagall,_

 _I gladly accept your invitation to Hogwarts._

 _Kind regards_

 _Anna Hansen_

I wanted to give the letter to the owl, but it shook its head. You need to put the school fee in the letter." "What school fee?", I asked surprised. "Well, Hogwarts is not free of charge. The teachers, the food and all the other things cost money", the owl explained. "Of course, but I don´t have magical money on me right now. Can´t I send that separately later?" "But it has to be there before the start of term." I nodded and added to the letter.

 _PS.: I will send the school fee as soon as I get to Gringotts!_

I gave the letter to the owl and it wanted to fly away, but I stopped it. "Wait, please. What is your name by the way? I am Anna." "It´s Mystery. It was an honour to meet you. See you in Hogwarts." Then Mystery flew away and disappeared into the morning light. I looked at her for a while. _So, it is a **she**!_

 **So Anna is now in the world of Harry Potter or maybe in her own just in another time? Well you will find out eventually. Hope you don´t minf that I gave her a special gift, but I still promise she will not be a prodigy! I wish you all Merry Christmas! Enjoy your time with family or friends!**


	3. New friends

**Hello everybody! I wish you a happy new year! Here is a new chapter for you, hope you like it ;) R &R**

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JKR!; except my own characters and additions.

 **New Friends**

After some time, I opened the welcome letter from Hogwarts. _Like in the story. I can´t believe it!_ I found the book list and a paper which included the announcement of the school fee of 600 Galleonen and the reminder of the destination place and date. _Okay, how much was a Galleon? I think 5 Pounds and combining it with fluctuations of nearly the last nearly two decades, that is a lot of money! I wonder, how the Weasleys get that amount of money for their five kids. Well, already one difference between the book and reality…. Or whatever I should call this?_

 _Wonder what else is new?_ I looked around myself and got up to discover my new "home". I was really in a barn. My Go-pack lied beside me with my photo album and my fairy-tale book, as well as my money. _Seems that at least, I don´t have to worry about money!_ I stretched myself and winced. _Ouch! That hurt!_ My back still hurt immensely. I felt the welts with my fingers. _To he… well to damnation with my uncle._ Yesterday was definitely not a dream. _So, what now?! I can´t live for four weeks in a barn!_

I climbed down the ladder and looked around me. There were four horse stalls. On one of the walls still hang one head collar and a lead. Next to the stalls was an empty area, in which probably a carriage or something similar once stood, opposite to it was the barn door. At the end of the stall walk way was a door. I carefully opened it and found a little kitchen with a sink and even a shower in one of the corners. In the middle of the room stood a table with three stools. Everything was dusty and filthy. I went to the sink and turned the tap. Water flowed out of it. I carefully tasted it, after it had cleared. _That´s okay! At least I can wash myself here. Maybe I can live here after all. But I wonder where the water is coming from?_ I saw some pipes disappearing into the roof. I left the room and climbed again upstairs and crawled over to the room that I have been in before. There I found an old box, which was filled with rainwater. I climbed back downstairs and stumbled over my long dress. I sighed. _I am a child again. This is going to be fun!_

My stomach was rumbling. _Well, no wonders. I haven´t eaten for nearly 24 hours._ I took my bag, left the barn and was blinded by the daylight. The barn was seated between a big forest and some wild meadows. Left to the barn flowed a creek, which was not deep but wide. I felt the temperature. It was ice cold, even though it was the end of July. I drank some mouthfuls of water with my hands. I looked around me and saw a silhouette of a farm house in the distance and even a little farther to the left a church spire. _A church means a town, which means people, and that means a grocery store. That will be my next destination!_

I shouldered my bag and began walking on the dirt track between the meadows and the forest towards the farm house. After some time, I reached a tarred street, which would lead me on the right to the farm house and on the left to a small town. I could already make out the town in the valley, because I was standing up a hill. I walked towards the village. After 60 minutes of walking, I reached the first houses. After another 600 meters I reached the village center, with a little church and marketplace, where a farmer's market was taking place. There were stands with vegetables, fruits, bread, meat, fish, cheese, even farm animals, clothes and garden figurines. A lot of people were walking in the small passages between the stands. I walked into the farmer´s market and bought some bread, apples, some bottles of juice, milk and a glass honey. Then I found a picnic blanket and some dresses. _I can´t buy any short-life food products. I can put the milk and juice into this ice-cold stream. For a day or two, they will not perish._

After my shopping, I went to a stand, where I bought a few warm baguettes with cheese and ham. After I was filled up, I looked around me. I saw some cafés, ice cream parlours, an optometrist, a book store, and a few clothing shops. Down the street, I could make out an advertising sign for a supermarket for camping gear. I searched for this supermarket and found it a few streets away. _Now, I can buy everything I need and then I really can live in that barn for the rest of the summer. Hogwarts will start in a couple of weeks._ I went inside and bought a sleeping bag, a flashlight, and some batteries. I even found a cool box and some thermal packs. _They should be able to cool the box, if I cool them in the stream overnight. Trying can´t hurt._ Finally, I bought a big biscuit tin and a first-aid package. I felt like a drudge on the way back to my summer residence and needed more than two hours, because I had to stop often to catch my breath. I put the thermal packs, the milk and juice bottles in the stream and secured them with some heavy stones. It was just after eight when I finally fell exhausted on my new sleeping bag and fell asleep instantly.

When I woke up again, I was not alone. _This is becoming a habit._ But it was not Mystery, but a tabby cat. It looked like a small tiger with black stripes, a white stomach and a orange-yellow base colour. "Hey, small fellow, good morning! I am not going to hurt you", I said carefully. _Maybe I can speak to cats as well?_ The cat made big eyes and crouched down a little bit. _Ready to attack!_ "Honest! I will not hurt you!", I assured it. "Are you hungry. I have some milk for you!" The cat sat straight again. "I´d like some milk", it purred. I asked: "So, are you able to understand me?" The cat looked at me surprised. "Are you able to understand me?" I nodded my head and explained: "Yes, and yesterday I had a lengthy conversation with an owl named Mystery." "Wow! That is so exciting! I am Tiger." I smiled and answered: "A perfect name. So, you are a male cat." "Of course!", he said offended. I laughed. "Sorry."

The cat smiled and asked: "And what is your name?" "Oh, I am sorry. My name is Anna. I am pleased to meet you." I got up and shook the straw out of my blond wavy hair. "Well, do you want some milk?" I asked again. Tiger nodded, we climbed downstairs and went outside. _It is nice to talk to someone. Funny only, that it is an animal!_ I took the milk bottle out of the stream and poured it into a bowl. I sat down on the meadow in the sun, ate an apple and drank out of the milk bottle, which was pleasantly cold. "So, where do you come from? I´ve never encountered someone here; not even the old couple from the farm, which this barn belongs to. I often sleep in this barn, if I don´t sleep on the farm. The old lady is so nice!", explained Tiger without stopping once.

I told him my story but left out some details. Tiger was listening intensely. "This is so interesting! I am alone as well. My mother and family live deep in this forest. They never leave it, but I wanted to explore more than the neighbouring meadows, so I left my home", he meowed. I asked: "Why do they not leave the woods?" "My mother once belonged to a Squib and this woman has treated her very badly, so she ran away, met my father, a wild cat, in the forest and stayed. My mother is a Kniesel. I am a half breed", he explained proudly again without a break. _I must pretend._ "What is a Kniesel?" "A magical cat. She looks like a normal cat, but with big ears and a lion's tail. They can sense magical auras and seek out other magical animals", Tiger explained patiently. "Wow! Now that I call amazing. Can you do that, too?" Tiger nodded. _Well, that I definitely did not know from the books. I knew Kniesel existed and that they are magical cats, but not which abilities they have. In this world I can learn and explore more about the magical world. But shouldn´t I feel some…. I don´t know… magic? Am I really a witch?_

Tiger looked at me expectantly. I cleared my throat and said: "This world… ehm… I mean the magical world is new to me." "I don´t know much as well. My mother sometimes told us stories, but I never saw anything", Tiger said sadly. I nodded and looked up to the sky. The sun was shining down on us. It was warm, sunny and a soft wind was blowing over the meadow. I asked Tiger who was lying beside me. "Do you want to show me around? I want to explore the surroundings a little bit!" Tiger jumped up and meowed excitingly: "Of course, follow me! I show you everything!" He ran along the dirt track and I followed him, after I put the milk back into the stream.

Tiger showed me the area. Behind the extensions of the big forest lay a big lake, which was fantastic for a quick swim. The water was perfect, and I walked along the shore. Tiger was waiting far away. _Cats really are afraid of water!_ The woods were light-flooded and full of bushes with berries, which I harvested right away. We ate some of them as snacks. With a big detour over some potatoes and corn fields and meadows with colourful flowers, we arrived in the evening at the old farm house. We were starving. I left the biscuits in the barn and the berries were already gone.

Tiger jumped in front of the kitchen window and was meowing very loudly. Instantly the window opened and an old lady with grey curly locks and a red apron looked outside. "Well, hello, little fellow! Hungry again?", she asked friendly. Then she saw me and smiled. "Oh, I see, you got a little friend. Good evening, child!", she greeted me. "Good evening!", I said friendly and smiled. _Ready for the show!_ Tiger and I have thought about a story, so that none of the adults would get suspicious. The old woman welcomed us inside and asked me: "Where do you come from, sweetie?" _Long time since someone called me that!_ "Well, my father and I are camping in the woods. He researches the animals in the forest and took me along, so that I get out of the city. My name is Anna", I answered. The lady smiled and said: "I am Mrs. Greene, but you can call me Dora! Everyone does. Please come in. How do you know the little fellow?"

I thanked her, cleaned my shoes before entering the house and answered her: "He was at the bases. I gave him some milk and he stayed. He kinda show me the way to your farm. He is very smart!" I hesitated, but then asked shyly: "By the way, Mrs. Gre… Dora, could I buy some milk here?" "Of course, child! Milk, eggs, vegetables and fruits. We produce everything we need ourselves. We are self-sustaining." I looked around me in the comfy wooden farm kitchen. It was smelling mouth-watering. "Are you hungry? It is dinner time already. Is your father not expecting you?", she asked, as she was packing everything together in a little basket. She looked at the old clock and knitted her brows. "Not yet. It´s summer time and he knows that I wanted to walk into town for some food" I explained evasively. "Nonsense! You can eat here and then take the basket with you", Dora ordered and pushed me gently towards the kitchen table on which a pot with hot soup was already standing. "Wanderers are rare in this region. My husband and I only travel into town on famer´s market day which is every two weeks. But other than that, we barely see any one."

An old man in dungarees and a plaid shirt entered the kitchen and greeted me surprised: "Good evening. Who might you be?" "Good evening, sir. I am Anna! My father and I are camping in the woods. He is researching there", I introduced myself. "I invited her to dinner, darling", Dora explained. The man nodded and said: "I see. Well, I am George. Nice to meet you, Anna! What kind of research does your father do?" He eyed me up friendly. "He is studying the animals." George nodded, sat down and we ate together. Tiger got something to eat as well. It was dark already, when I finally left. George tried to insist on bringing me home, but I could convince him not to. My eyes were younger, as well as my legs and I had Tiger as a guide. They wished me a good night and invited me to come over whenever I wished to. I promised to come around, took the basket filled with all kinds of yummy things and walked home. It was really difficult to orientate in the darkness and without Tiger I probably would have lost my way. This evening, I was laying in my sleeping bag and stroked Tiger´s head. _I am not alone in this strange world. I have friends already!_


End file.
